Blood and Betrayal: Season 1
by The Mormon And Otaku
Summary: In each of the four schools of Vale, there has always been a team of four. However, when a mysterious boy applies for Beacon, Ozpin makes the first exception to this rule in history and puts him into team RWBY, making it the only team of five in the world. That isn't the only change, however. This boy carries a painful burden, and his burden will spark a war between all of Remnant.
1. Chapter 1

_As a hunter, I've been in many battles in my life. Some of them were fun, sparring with students at Beacon. Others were out of necessity, most of these fights consisting of Grimm extermination._

 _Then there were the battles of heartbreak._

 _These battles shaped who I am today. A few of these battles have helped me become strong, while most others plague me with nightmares. Out of all of these kinds of battles, though, the one that hurt my team the most would be the battle for the relic at Haven academy. Not only did I have to fight against my team, I had to do it with the man that Remnant hated the most. The man that I hated the most._

 _My father._

I didn't have time to process what had just happened as Weiss thrusts her rapier towards my hip. I dodge as the situation went from bad to worse in a second.

Atlas's soldiers start charging towards Haven academy with Penny leading the charge. At the same time, Ruby's group suddenly starts attacking Zxchoal, doing their best to suppress him as I see Yang and who I supposed was Raven appear out of nowhere from the corner of my eye. I didn't have time to think about it as Yang started to join Weiss in her attack against me, alternating their attacks as Yang threw punches at me while Weiss swung her rapier at me.

 _Thinking about it now, it hadn't even been a full year when the people that I was fighting that night were assigned to be teammates. It was a very drastic change for me. A terrible one too._

As my old teammates keep attacking me, Zxchoal suddenly yanks my coat and pulls me away from the two. After that, he sends out a powerful wave of destructive magic from his palms, hitting most of the people in the room with the exception of Qrow and Raven, who both manage to dodge. When the magic hit Penny, on the other hand, it completely burned out, leaving her unscathed. I yell to Zxchoal, "Penny's been reinforced with polerstar! We can't use magic against her!"

He yells back, "Yeah, I see that!"

Me and Zxchoal press our backs against each other, the number of foes increasing by the second. I knew that if we were to win, then I needed to start fighting. But if I fought against any of my old companions, then I would only make the hole in our relationships even wider. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation.

 _In wars, there were always two sides: Friends and foes. During that fight, there was still two sides. The betrayers, and the betrayed. I couldn't tell who fell in what category at the time. Even now I still can't._

Zxchoal says to me, "With this number of hunters, the both of us aren't going to get to the relic! I'm going to clear the way for you, and you go destroy-"

"No, Weiss was planning this attack on us tonight! She must have something that'll take us down!" One of the robotic soldiers interrupts me with a shot from it's gun. I roll to my left and blast it with an electric dust crystal. It explodes all too easily, and I continue with my point, "It's too risky for us to separate!"

"Hmmm…. Yeah, you're right. I bet it's probably that robot doll with the bad haircut." As he says that, he sends another wave of magic towards Raven and Qrow, forcing them to dodge as it obliterates the wall behind them.

I knew that I needed to tap into Joker's magic powers to push them back as Zxchoal was doing, but I didn't want to lose control over myself and depict myself as a monster to everyone here. I refused to. So instead, I decide to do a team attack with Zxchoal, though I felt like throwing up at the thought.

I yell to Zxchoal, "Plan 'Mirror!'" He simply nodded to me, signaling that he was ready. I hold both of my gauntlets in front of my chest and use all the energy from the electric dust crystals within the gauntlets to shoot at Zxchoal. He uses his magic to absorb the electricity, amplify it, and then release it. The power of the lightning was so great that it felt like he just created a hurricane. Nobody managed to get out of the attack unscathed this time. Most of the robotic robots were destroyed, and my old teammates were severely hurt. Even Qrow and Raven were struck by the attack.

 _I was filled with regret ever since that day. The scars that I left on my teammates would never quite fully heal, and their screams of pain would haunt me in my dreams._

Qrow and Raven were the first ones to get back up. They attacked Zxchoal together, their swings so powerful that the shockwaves broke parts of the building.

However, it was a setup to get Zxchoal away from me. A pair of jets suddenly came out of Penny's back, and she zoomed towards me within the blink of an eye. I barely had enough time to brace myself before she rams my body.

When she collides into me, I feel a good chunk of my aura get blown away. It was a bit painful as well. Even so, I force my feet to stay on the ground and push against Penny. Her ram attack quickly becomes a battle of sheer strength and will. Our faces were mere inches from each other, allowing me to see all the details of her face. If I didn't know that she was a robot, I would've thought she was a person.

"I won't let you win Ralph!" Her thrusters suddenly push harder, and my feet scoot back a bit. For a moment, I was unsure of who was going to be the victor of this battle.

 _If I had made a few different choices back then, maybe things would have gone better. But in the end, it was my fault that my team broke apart. That truth is one of the most painful things I have to bear._

I close my eyes for a few moments, the memories of the past year flooding through my brain. Those days seemed like a miracle to exist, because now….

There was nothing but destruction.

 _The world…. My world…. Grew bleaker that night. It seemed as if there was no hope in the world. I knew, however, that there was hope in my life, even if there was none then. If I had stopped fighting for even a second, then that light would die forever. I couldn't let that happen, no matter what happened to me._

My eyes snap back open. I was filled with determination to see the war through until the end. I couldn't lose here! "PENNYYYYYYYY!" I take a step forward, my body pushing her back.

She looked shocked, and she tried pushing me back once more. I wasn't going to let that happen again. No matter what, I was going to do what I came here to do.

Even if I had to rip her apart limb from limb.

 _As the battle waged on throughout the night, I felt something in the air. Change. A change from what, I didn't exactly know. All I knew was that even if the war was finally over and humanity was the side left standing, things would never be the way it used to be…._


	2. Episode 2: A walk through history

**Present Day**

Even though I drove a car to Dead-Man's forest, I had to walk most of the way in. There were too many bushes and trees for the Jeep to get around, forcing me to leave it parked on the forest's outskirts. It was an inconvenience to leave all my supplies behind, but lugging around a tent and food would only slow me down. Time was something that I was short on, and I had to throw away every precaution if I wanted to make any progress.

Still, even though I wasn't carrying anything, it was tedious to walk through the woods. There were dead trees lying everywhere, and the ground was uneven with cracks and holes from previous encounters. In short, the woods lived up to its name. _Dead-Man's forest, a graveyard of hunters and Grimm alike, used to be one of the most dangerous place in Vale. It was filled to the brim with some of the most powerful Grimm on Remnant since Grimm came to be. Even full-fledged hunters that tried to thin the numbers had difficulty with the vast amount of Grimm that plagued this area. But now that the Grimm are gone, this place is finally open to investigation._

Ever since the end of the war, there were no traces of Grimm throughout all of Remnant anymore. Places where Grimm had infested were now cleared out. This meant that the government could send in scouts to investigate the once barred-off areas without having to fight for their lives. There were already dozens of areas that have now been updated in terms of landscape and resource materials. I was lucky enough that the government still had to do tons of paperwork before investigating an area, otherwise they would have turned the forest upside-down _weeks_ ago. Still, even though I was the first one to explore the forest, it would be a miracle if I found anything of value.

Then again, it was a miracle that I'm exploring Dead-Man's forest in the first place.

 _One year, three months, and two weeks. Four hundred and seventy days is the total amount of time that the war against Salem lasted. Most people call the war the 'Final Extermination,' which is what Ozpin called the time from when I first enrolled into Beacon to when humanity finally got rid of the Grimm for good when he was interviewed a few days after the war was over. Since then, the name stuck with people. The name of the event doesn't matter to me though. All that mattered is that the war was over, and more importantly, there are no more Grimm threatening the existence of humanity anymore. Peace and equality is starting to bloom throughout Remnant, and the new generations of hunters and huntresses are starting to become the future protectors of the next era._

 _I, on the other hand, don't have the leisure to start catching my breath._

There are countless mysteries hidden in Remnant. Hidden passageways, ancient textbooks, secret archaeological buildings. Even the dust we use everyday have mysteries yet to be discovered. But with all these secrets that are scattered across Remnant, there was one certain mystery that I needed to solve. One that involved my mother before I was born. A mystery that, if I wanted to solve, I would have to dig to the very core of Remnant.

 _Digging to the core of Remnant... The last time I did that, I ended up splitting my team apart._ I stop walking for a moment at the remembrance of my failure and pull out my journal from my pocket. I had bought a few days before I went to Beacon Academy, and within it contained my entire time at Beacon. In this journal contained my most greatest sorrow, as well one of the most defining moments of my life. I've already re-read the small book from beginning to end dozens of times, probably more than any other book I may have read. However, no matter how many times I read my journal, I would always have the urge to read it again.

The same urge came over me now. I knew from experience that I wouldn't be able to ignore the urge, so I decide to take a seat against a tree to read it for a few minutes. I flip the cover over with my left hand and begin to walk through my life again:

 _7 / 5 / 12_

 _'Today was my first day at Beacon Academy. I have to admit, it wasn't at all like I was expecting it to be. And not in a great way either._

 _To start, the kids were very annoying. Most of them were either a jerk who had an ego the size of a Nevermore, or they were just too full of rainbows and sunshine. It wasn't bad seeing a few students with optimism, but some of them just seemed intoxicated with it. The girl I met on the ride to Beacon was one of them._

 _Her name was Ruby Rose. She's the youngest huntress-in-training to attend Beacon so far, as she was 15. It caught me a little off guard when I learned that she was that young, but when I took a closer look at her I saw why Ozpin took an interest to her: She had silver eyes. It was the only possible explanation that Ruby was able to enroll at Beacon Academy, as there was no way that professor Ozpin would let a girl as young as her into his academy. Even though it's been a few years, the incident with the huntress who brutally failed on her mission is still a topic of concern to new students who enroll into Beacon._

 _Still, even though she seemed pretty naive, I could see that she had a kind soul. I hope that she doesn't get herself killed out in the field. She might be a person I could actually work with.'_

 **470 Days Ago: The first day of Beacon Academy**

(Rwby)

I pout at my sister. "Yang, I told you I'm fine! I don't need to talk to anyone!"

She looks at me with her signature grin as she says, "I know that sis, but it wouldn't kill you to at least introduce yourself to someone! Anybody on this ship could be part of your team!"

"I…." I couldn't argue with that. Sighing, I reluctantly tell her, "If I go tell someone my name, will you stop pestering me about getting to know other people?"

She nods in agreement. "Fair enough, but you also have to know their name too."

"Fine, fine, whatever." I look around, looking for the friendliest person to talk to. No one seem to meet that criteria in particular, and one guy looks like he was about to throw up. As I keep looking around, I eventually see a boy sitting on the floor with a small book in his hands. He was nose deep into it as well, and he was sitting so still that he gave the impression that he was cut off from the other student's presence.

The first thing that I notice about his looks was that he was wearing gauntlets on his hands, kinda like yang. Each one was colored a light grey, and in the middle of them was a small circle. I look at it a bit more closely, and I see that it's actually a slot. My guess was that it was the place where he it unfolds into a gun.

As I keep looking at him, I start to picture him as Yang. He had gauntlets like she did, and he looked like the kind of person to always be down for a fight. I start to feel a little more relax at the thought, and so I decide to talk to him.

Slowly I walk up to him and ask, "Whatcha reading?" As soon as I say that, however, he immediately slams his book shut. _Okay, that wasn't the reaction I was hoping for._ I try a different approach to starting a conversation. "Sooooo…. Do you like books? I like books."

The boy sighs and says to me, "Look, I overheard your conversation over there. I would also like to have some peace and quiet on the rest of our ride to Beacon, so how about we just exchange names and go our separate ways?"

His rough words rattle me a bit. I start to brainstorm of a way to get him to talk some more, but I was afraid that he would just go back to reading if I tried to push him into a conversation. _I guess introductions is one way to talk to someone._ After coming to that conclusion, I put my arm out for a handshake and say, "A-all right, I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."

He shakes my hand as he says, "Ralph Samuel Riana."

I slowly repeat, "...Ralph?"

He sighs, as if he's heard the same response before. "Yeah yeah, I know. My name isn't exactly symbolic like most people's."

I shift nervously, not wanting to accidently make him angry. "Well, it IS kinda plain…. But I think that's a good name!"

"Is that so….?" He looks at my face for a few moments before suddenly saying, "You look too young to be a huntress."

"Too young?!" I get offended by his remark. "W-well, I may be fifteen, but I am a very capable huntress!"

"Fifteen, huh?" He studies me for a few more seconds before replying, "I'm not saying you're incapable. In fact, you must have a lot of potential if Ozpin's letting you into Beacon. I bet that he's planning for you to be the leader for whatever team you land in."

His sudden change of attitude throws me for a loop. "O-oh. Thanks…."

He opens his little book and breaks his eye contact with me, changing his focus to what he was looking at before. "I think this conversation's gone on long enough. You can go back to your friend or whatever."

"Oh. Ummm…. See you around, I guess?"

I walk awkwardly back to Yang, who was eagerly watching the conversation. "So," she says to me, "How'd it go?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Ehhh... Good, I guess? He told me his name."

Yang lightly slaps me on the back. "Atta Ruby! See, I knew you could do it!"

I sigh in relief that she was going to stop pestering me about getting to know people, but at the same time I thought about that boy. There was something weird about him, like he had more to him than he was letting on. As if he was hiding a secret from the everybody...

...

 _Eh, I'm sure it's nothing. I'm probably just overthinking this._ I then go back to chatting with Yang about what we should do during our year at Beacon Academy.


	3. Episode 3: A Hateful First Greeting

_7 / 6 / 12_

 _Today had a lot of… Unexpected events, to say the least._ _The students were going to be put into teams this morning, but it was different from anything that I was expecting. Ozpin decided that it was a good idea to send us flying into Emerald forest to find relics to collect, all while having no equipment to make sure that we didn't break our spines during our landing. I mean, just... Really?_

 _I'm not sure how much I actually agree with this system, but it's brought forth some of the most powerful and legendary hunters on Remnant, so I guess I can't say that this doesn't work._

 _I quickly caught on how the grouping worked. Assuming that each person had a partner with them, they would be put into a team with whatever duo that had the same chess piece as them. Simple enough, right? That's how it should've been._ _However, when I finally found where the relics were at, I saw a Death Stalker running off in the distance. I knew from studies and personal experience that Grimm walk when they are traveling. When they run, though, it's because they have a target._

 _Death Stalkers are very dangerous Grimm, and it could easily kill a pair of students. I didn't want to take the chance of letting other people die because I chose to do nothing about it, so I quickly grabbed my chess piece and ran after the Death Stalker. It wasn't that far away from me, so I managed to catch up to it to fight it by myself. I was able to attain victory, but it was far from easy. There were a lot of times that I was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the Death Stalker, and I had deep gashes on my arms from the fight, which caused me to stay in the nurse's office for most of the day afterwards._ _Still, even with my many wounds and mistakes during that battle, I felt accomplished for beating a Death Stalker on my own. While I know this feat is smaller than the size of a pebble compared to_ _ **his**_ _power, it's definitely a sign of improvement. I still remember when I could barely lift a dumbbell back before I had unlocked my aura._

 _Surprisingly, however, this wasn't the paramount event of my day. It happened later in the evening, during the team-ceremony. The event that happened will no doubt dramatically change my years here at Beacon.'_

* * *

|(Ralph)|

"Ow ow ow!"

I shout in pain as the nurse wraps bandages around my arm, but she didn't seem too upset at my predicament. In fact, she sternly says, "You may have potentially helped other students, but this is not something you should earn a medal for! Fighting a Death Stalker all by yourself?! You should be grateful that you won't have any scars from this!"

I roll my eyes at her, but I knew that the nurse is absolutely right. There were plenty of hunters that got themselves killed for being too gung-ho. Even so... "It's not like I had much of a choice. I couldn't just stand by and let the Grimm attack someone else."

The nurse sighs in annoyance, but her expression softens. "I understand that you had to make a hard choice. While it was a dangerous decision you made, it is respectable what you did. But don't be deluded by your actions. If you can't protect yourself, you won't be able to protect others. I've had a lot of students end up here because of that, and I've seen a lot of good hunters die from it. If you don't want to be one of these people, then you better learn to avoid taking such risks sooner rather than later." As she finishes her sentence, she finishes tightening the bandages. "Leave this on for at least twenty-four hours. Although your aura will heal the damages to your arm, it will take time. Refrain from using it as much as possible."

I nod. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Just try not to make me work too much, okay?" She said those words in a teasing tone, but her eyes were sharp as a knife, letting me know that I shouldn't challenge that statement. The nurse then leaves me to rest, and says on the way out, "I'll be back when the ceremony starts to tell you if you can go or not. It'll be in three hours, so try to get as much rest as you can until then."

"Sure thing, doc."

She smiles in satisfaction, then closes the door, allowing me some peace and quiet. However, while I was the only person in the nurse's office, I couldn't relax. My head was swirling from the events that happened during the team exercise, and my heart was still clutched by a humiliating-frustration. _I can't believe it… I'm the only one who didn't to find a partner._

Even though I had found the relics, I didn't run into anybody in the forest. It might've just been plain bad luck. Others might chalk it up to destiny. Either way, I thought that I could just grab a relic and look for a partner with the remaining time. I didn't expect to see a Death Stalker hunting after someone. It sucked that I had to abandon finding a partner, but as I said to the nurse, it wasn't a choice for me of what to do.

Still, I couldn't help but feel nervous about what would happen to me. As far as I knew, this was the first time something like this happened at Beacon; A complete freak-accident. I didn't know if Ozpin was going to have me retake the exercise or what. All I knew was that whatever was going to happen to me, I was going to be in for a rough ride.

* * *

When the time came for the ceremony, the nurse came back. She says in a tone much softer than when she had patched me up, "You're in luck Ralph. Ozpin is giving you permission to attend the ceremony."

I sigh in relief and quickly sit up, unable to bear the anticipation any longer. Of course, that just makes my wounds burn. I wince in pain, and the nurse just shakes her head and sighs. "If it was up to me, you'd be staying right here all day. However, Ozpin specifically requested your presence on the stage immediately."

"Me? On the stage?" I was honestly surprised that I would be on the stage where the students with partners were supposed to be on. I was assuming that I was going to have a private talk with professor Ozpin after the ceremony. Hearing his request for me made me a bit curious of what was going to happen... And scared of it's outcome.

I take a deep breath and stand up, slowly this time, and make my way out the door. With a warning to be careful from the nurse, I walk as fast as I can to the auditorium.

When I arrive at the doors, I can only hear the faint mumble of Ozpin's voice. _Alright... Let's get this over with._ I take a deep breath, and push open the doors.

Going in, I see that it is filled to the brim with students, and every single one of them looks at me as I walk in as casually as I can. It makes me uncomfortable to be the center of attention in this crowd, and I try to ignore it as best as I can.

I make my way up to the stage where Ozpin and four other girls are currently standing at. Coincidentally, I recognize all of them. _There's the girl I met on the ride to Beacon, as well as her buddy. Ruby, I believe. Right next to her is Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company. And Blake Balledona… I didn't think that I'd run into her again. I doubt that she remembers me from the White Fang meetings._

Ozpin takes a sip of coffee before saying to me, "Ah, Ralph. I see that your injuries are starting to heal."

I think to myself, _Actually, my legs feel like jelly and I feel like my head's about to split open._ "Yeah, I guess so."

Ozpin lightly taps his cane on the ground as he turns to face the crowd. "Every student here has the potential to change the world. Some students may find themselves in a precarious situation as Ralph here did." He looks at me before continuing, "While your efforts at during the team-exercise today hasn't gone unnoticed, it has come to my attention that you have failed to find a partner."

The students broke out into murmurs at the newfound knowledge. My chest swells in both embarrassment and discomfort, and I can't help but hang my head down.

"This was, is an unprecedented event. Not that a student didn't manage to find a partner, mind you, but that you found a relic while partner-less. There are plenty of other students that you could be paired up with, but I find it unfair for a person to be rewarded for something that they did not do, even if that person is one of my students." The crowd instantly hushes at Ozpin's words. Even I was taken aback by his bluntness. "With that in mind," Ozpin continues as he turns to me, "I have reached a conclusion. The fairest thing I can do within the authority that I have is to put you into another team." He takes a step back and holds his cane towards the four girls. "Team RWBY will be the host for your place at Beacon."

The four girls scream in unison, "WHAT?!" The crowd of students break also burst into gasps and chatter. As for me, well, I was too speechless to get words out of my mouth.

Ozpin patiently waits for the voices to die down before addressing to the students, "While this is the first time I have ever done this at my school, rest assured, this isn't an act of favoritism. I have acted many times on the potential of hunters and huntresses alike." Ozpin then turns and faces me. "I also see great potential in you, Ralph Samuel Riana. I believe that you will be able to change the tide in this war."

For a few moments, I'm speechless. I don't know what to say to this. But eventually, I find the right words. "Professor Ozpin…" I bow my head to him. "I am deeply honored to be at your school, and would be more honored to be a part of this team."

He slightly smiles. "Then from today on, team RWBY will be a team of five: Team RRWBY."

The only person who seemed to laugh at the little joke Ozpin made was the blonde girl. All the students suddenly break into cheers and clapping, which was pretty ordinary in a ceremony, but I personally wasn't fond of being the center of attention. However, unbeknownst to everybody else, I see Ozpin make eye contact with me. His eyes were giving me a warning. One that I understand clearly.

"Team RRWBY," Ozpin continues, "You are free to head to your dormitory."

We all nod, and start to exit off the stage. However, Ozpin calls out to me, "Ralph. Just remember..."

 _If you make so much as a single error here at Beacon, you **will** face punishment to the most severe degree._

"...Have a enjoyable time here at Beacon."

I feel my spine shiver, and a sinking feeling that my time here at Beacon isn't going to be what I hoped for starts to take form. Even so, I put on my best smile and say, "I'll do my best." However, as I walk with my new team to our assigned room, I feel that Ozpin is watching me the whole time. That he isn't looking at me as Ralph, but as the son of Zxchoal.

* * *

|(Ozpin)|

When all the students have left to their rooms, I return to my office with Glynda. She gave me a hard glare the entire time, but waits until we are alone to safely talk. As soon as we get off the elevator and into my office, Glynda says sternly to me, "You know that I don't like it when you make decisions without talking to me about it Ozpin."

"Glynda, we both know how dangerous Ralph is at our school. It's better to have him in a team that are partnered with each other than partners with him."

"I understand that, it's just…" She shifts uncomfortably, and I could tell that she was thinking of the battle against Ralph's father. "...I want to prevent our students from getting hurt again."

The familiar anger towards Zxchoal starts to surface again, and I swallow it down with some coffee. "I perfectly understand. There have been few tragedies greater than the massacre caused by Zxchoal." I close my eyes and see the faces of those trampled under the raw bloodthirst of Zxchoal. The people whom I failed to save. "It's a weight that I will always have to carry with me."

"Ozpin, you know that this isn't solely your burden to bear."

I shake my head at her. "It might as well be. If I was more willing to do whatever it took to end Zxchoal, then the council would be spared from all this trouble, as well as every person on Remnant." I take another sip of coffee, it's bitterness helping me keep my emotions stable. "It's now my responsibility to clean up my mess, and I will start that by making sure Ralph will never become a threat like his father."

I meant what I said when I told Ralph that I could see great potential in him. However, his potential to be a hunter could easily turn into potential to destroy Remnant by the legacy of his father. This was the danger that Ralph posed to students at Beacon Academy... And which is why the other three professors of the other three schools that held a relic didn't want Ralph at their school.

Glynda's expression twists in pain. I could see the worry in her eyes, the worry that I would lose myself to my anger. Once upon a time I had that same worry, and that worry caused me to make the wrong choice when it mattered most. "Ozpin... You know that you don't have to face the past alone. There are people on your side to help you."

"I know. I am a very lucky man to have such good friends with me." I drink the last of my coffee, savoring it's taste. "I'll be sure to rely on you in the days to come."

Glynda breaks into a small smile, satisfied with my answer. However, I refrain myself from letting Glynda know of my promise that I made to myself, as well as to the dead and the living. _I will not make the same mistake of being too naive. If Ralph adopts his father's actions, no matter the circumstances..._

 _Then I will kill him where he stands._


End file.
